The Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority will get a new board member next year.

Roger Mann, a retired banking industry veteran of 38 years who has served on numerous local boards of directors, was appointed to the post Wednesday by Stark County commissioners.

Mann is the retired chairman of Huntington National Bank's Greater Akron/Canton region. Prior to that, he was president and chief executive of Unizan Financial Corp. and chairman of Unizan Bank. He's the current board chair for the Sisters of Charity Health System and is a trustee with the Stark County Port Authority.

Mann was not available for comment Wednesday.

He'll take the spot now held by Frank Beane, who is winding up his 27th year on the SMHA board. County Commissioner Tom Bernabei said it was time for someone else to serve.

"We believe one of our duties ... is to bring as much expertise to that board as possible," he said.

County Commissioner Richard Regula agreed.

"I think there's been a lack of oversight there," he said.

All five of the volunteer board seats are five years in duration, with staggered terms beginning Feb. 1, so that one seat opens every year. County commissioners, common pleas judges and the probate judge have one appointee apiece, while the mayor of Canton has two.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General chastised the SMHA board in a report released on July 15. HUD determined the Housing Authority spent $10.5 million in federal funds on ineligible projects and/or without proper documentation.

In one section, which dealt with an oil and gas lease signed with Chesapeake Exploration, the report noted that: "Previous executive directors and the board of commissioners lacked a sufficient understanding of HUD's requirements regarding the encumbrance of program assets ..."

The agency was advised to reimburse its federal accounts — and the SMHA board is expected to vote on a repayment plan today.